With an unprecedented 20 women in the U.S. Senate, the halls of power are starting to look more feminine. Rachael Combe profiles 10 women who are crashing DC's old boys club—with style.

Jill Biden

Jill Biden

When Jill Biden, Ed.D., moved to DC to become Second Lady, she did something that no vice president's wife had ever done: She got a full-time paying job in her new hometown. She now teaches English at Northern Virginia Community College while also keeping up with the prodigious demands of her title. A military mother—her son Beau went to Iraq with the National Guard, and her son Hunter was recently commissioned as a navy officer—she and Michelle Obama started Joining Forces, a group that helps military families. "I simply cannot say enough about how much I love working with Jill," says Obama, adding that Biden is more friend than work partner. (Obama recently joked, discussing her own new 'do, that she's been "coveting Jill's bangs for four years" and dubbed the two "the bang sisters.") Like the First Lady, Biden has brought a down-to-earth chic to the Capitol. "I admire how you can feel her personality through her style," says Lela Rose, whose designs Biden wore for the inauguration. Of course, Biden's biggest fan may be the Veep himself: "I marvel at Jill's capacity to do so many things, so well, at the same time. I respect her as much as I love her. She's the love of my life."

Alyssa Mastro- monaco

Alyssa Mastro- monaco

Remember Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman on The West Wing? White House deputy chief of staff Alyssa Mastromonaco is the real-life version, and she talks and thinks faster than any Aaron Sorkin character. She was Obama's scheduler back when he was a mere senator, orchestrated his every movement throughout the 2012 presidential campaign, managed his hunt for a running mate, and since then has become his go-to gal for everything from overseeing the cabinet staff to managing the Hurricane Sandy response. "When people need something at the White House, I have a lot of swat," she admits, laughing. She is known not only for her ability to read the president's mind but for having the discretion to keep it to herself. To prevent a slip of the tongue, she avoids reporters and dinner parties, preferring to spend nights at home with her fiancé, David Krone, Senate majority leader Harry Reid's chief of staff. She favors dressed-down looks at work but scours consignment stores for designers like Proenza Schouler and Oscar de la Renta for big nights out. Just 37, she was chosen by The New Republic magazine as one of its "most powerful, least famous" people in Washington.